Bespoke Partners Recruits CEO for AbsenceSoft
January 17, 2023 – San Diego, CA-headquartered executive search firm Bespoke Partners has assisted in the recruitment of Mark Schiff as the new chief executive officer of AbsenceSoft in Golden, CO. The search was led by Kristie Nova and Katherine Baker. “We couldn’t be more delighted to have partnered with such an outstanding team on this successful search,” the search team said. “We are excited to have Mark join as CEO,” said Ron Kasner, executive chairman. “His depth of experience in leading software companies and his focus on scale with a commitment to product excellence and customer success make him an ideal leader for AbsenceSoft as the company continues on its growth path.”
“Mark has had tremendous success through his career as a SaaS CEO and operator with experience scaling businesses to $100 million revenue and beyond,” said Ran Ding, partner at Norwest, AbsenceSoft’s lead investor. “In the age of remote and dispersed work, it is more important than ever to empower and support employees, especially in times of need. We continue to believe AbsenceSoft is uniquely positioned to deliver on this mission and are thrilled to partner with Mark to help accelerate the company’s impact and growth.”
Mr. Schiff brings to AbsenceSoft more than 25 years of leadership experience driving growth in software and data companies. Most recently, he served as president of Gordian, a software and solutions provider to the facilities and construction industries. Gordian is a part of Fortive, a $5 billion publicly traded company. During Mr. Schiff’s tenure at Gordian, the company grew revenue four times and had the highest employee engagement results among the 19 operating companies within parent company Fortive’s portfolio. Mr. Schiff joined Gordian following its acquisition of Sightlines, where he served as CEO.
In his role with AbsenceSoft , Mr. Schiff assumes day-to-day leadership of the company. As an HR tech leader, AbsenceSoft streamlines and automates employee leave and accommodations processes while ensuring compliance with federal and state laws as well as company-specific policies.
“AbsenceSoft has the most innovative leave and accommodations platform in the world and with an important mission to help companies take better care of their employees by optimizing their overall leave management and accommodations experience,” said Mr. Schiff. “At a time when workplace expectations and company cultures are shifting to be more employee focused, AbsenceSoft is working with major enterprise customers to continue to innovate leave and accommodations program delivery to improve employee experience and retention. I am thrilled to be joining such a great team at AbsenceSoft.”
Serving the PE Sector
Bespoke Partners is an executive search and leadership advisory firm dedicated to partnering with top private equity firms, including Francisco Partners, Clearlake Capital, WCAS, Insight Partners, GI Partners, General Atlantic, CVC Capital Partners, and TA Associates, among many others, to recruit software talent and assess and evaluate teams at every stage of the investment lifecycle, from growth equity to buyout.
Related: Bespoke Partners Recruits Chief Marketing Officer for BlueCat Networks
The search firm has completed over 600 searches since its inception a decade ago. Its expertise includes all C-level searches across multiple functional domains, including financial officers, HR and people, marketing and technology, as well as board of directors and internal private equity operating partner searches. The firm’s expanding leadership advisory platform includes organizational due diligence as well as executive assessment and coaching.
Bespoke Partners Offers Two-Year Executive Placement Guarantee
Bespoke Partners has announced a two-year guarantee on executive placements with the company’s leadership assessment service. “Doubling the industry standard of one-year guarantees on executive placements, the two-year guarantee from Bespoke Partners ensures placed executives will remain with client companies for at least 24 months,” the firm said. “The new guarantee is available to clients who utilize Bespoke’s FIT Profile behavioral assessments to assess leadership candidates and executive leadership teams.”
“Bespoke is proud to deliver an industry-leading 99% success rate of placed executives who continue to lead client companies for at least two years,” said Eric Walczykowski, CEO. “We recognize that our clients are looking for stability in these uncertain economic times, and the need for seasoned executives who can successfully achieve a firm’s investment thesis has never been more critical.”
Bespoke Partners has just announced that founding partner Ms. Nova will lead the firm’s dedicated practice placing high-impact chief executive officers in private equity portfolio companies. “I’m thrilled to return to my roots and lead our search practice to bring exceptional CEOs to our clients. The CEO plays the most critical role in driving portfolio company growth and achieving value creation objectives. Finding the most effective leader for that role has never been more important than in today’s challenging economic climate,” said Ms. Nova. She founded Bespoke Partners in 2011 and grew the firm into the premier human capital advisory partner for private equity firms investing in the growth and middle market software sector. As private equity firms have raised record-breaking funds in recent years, Bespoke likewise has expanded its executive network and search expertise to address leadership needs for companies across the private equity spectrum, from growth to middle market to large cap.
Based in Bespoke’s San Diego office, Ms. Baker helps build the executive teams for private equity backed software and technology companies. Prior to joining Bespoke in 2017, she spent four years focused on recruiting for the finance and accounting space across all industries including SAAS, biotech, energy, and defense from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups.
Related: Bespoke Partners Places CFO at NMI
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
